


Meeting your future

by WizzyGold



Series: Meeting your future [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Picnic, Rumbelle is Hope, Woobie Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 16:37:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6863659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WizzyGold/pseuds/WizzyGold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anon prompt: Going on a picnic and dreaming about a happy future.</p><p>For the Rumbelle is hope event on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meeting your future

They had been Tumblr mutuals for a few months before NaNoWriMo rolled up and someone had started a chatroom for writers of “The Enchanted Forest”, the fandom that brought them together. A show about fairy tales reimagined to suit more mature audience. After the first few nights where they had been mostly being doing word wars and talking about their favourite characters and ships, they had started to chat about other things. Turns out they had a lot in common.

After the one-month event, Belle had been afraid that they wouldn’t talk as much, since there was no excuse to enter the chat, so the first day after the due date she logged on the chatroom, holding her breath in anticipation.

He was there.

The only one, as well. Belle felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and couldn’t hold back her smile even if she tried. They had started chatting about the event and the fandom, but slowly they had started to delve in more personal topics. They had exchanged phone numbers after a couple of months, when they wanted to keep their conversations theirs and not open in a public chat.

That’s when they found out they both lived in the States.

Months later and she knew he was a bit older than her, had a shop and was a landlord, was divorced and had a son. She knew she was probably in love with Rumple_DO, or as he had finally confessed one night, Robert Gold.

She still called him Rumple out of habit some times.

About a month ago they had found, by accident, that they lived about an hour away. It had taken Belle three weeks to decide to ask him to meet face to face, only for Robert to beat her to the punch at the last minute and ask her if he could visit her while he had some business to attend in her town.

That had been a week ago.

Now, as she was approaching the park, a basket filled with lunch and a blanket in her hand, they were finally going to meet.

She still didn’t know what he looked like. His profile pic on WhatsApp was always the picture of his shop’s sign. She wasn’t quite brave enough to ask him for a picture and when they had set a date to meet she figured another week of not knowing how he looked made little difference.

She sat down under a tree, it’s shadow covering a large portion of the ground, perfect for the picnic they’d agreed on. She placed the blanket on the ground and took out the rose from the basket, placing it above it, checking her cell phone for a call or text from Robert, but nothing yet. That was alright, he still had a few minutes to arrive.

Since Tumblr was slow at that time of the day she opened her kindle app and began reading some new fantasy series that Ariel, her closest friend since moving from Melbourne, had recommended. She soon found herself lost in the world of fiction and almost jumped two feet in the air when she felt a hand gently touching her shoulder.

She looked up, seeing a handsome man looking at her with wide eyes, hand hovering above her shoulder.

“Belle?” he asked, unsure, his eyes flickering to the rose on her basket. _Oh._

“Rumple?”

The man smiled, his face turning a lovely shade of red before nodding a bit shyly.

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed while standing up, her smile huge on her face. She wanted to hug him, since she was usually a tactile person and she felt she knew him for a long time, but not everyone was comfortable with touch and she didn’t want to make him feel weird, so she extended her hand wanting to shake his, glad when he took it. “It’s nice to properly meet you, Robert”

“It is” he answered, still shaking her hand, a bit slower.

Belle broke contact first, indicating for him to sit. He placed a cooler she hadn’t noticed before in between them, next to her basket (he was the one in charge of drinks) and said he had to send a quick text to his son to let him know he was alright. It gave her opportunity to really look at her friend.

He had a thin and long, powerful nose, brown soulful eyes, thin lips and long brown hair that brushed his shoulders, with a few silver strands here and there. He was wearing a dark three-piece suit with a purple tie that looked expensive and classy.

He was very, extremely handsome and she was very, deeply screwed.

“I’m sorry for taking so long, he had a few questions about how to work the kitchen.” He explained apologetically, at which she just waved off his concern.

He had a gorgeous accent.

She knew he was from Scotland, that he had been living in the States for a good decade or so, but still, his voice was just perfect.

“Don’t worry about it,” she smiled, trying not to blush. “So, how did you find Storybrooke?”

“It’s a very charming town, everyone has been very kind, if a bit reserved, I think.”

She nodded. “Downside of a small town. How was business, everything okay?”

“Oh, yes, about that. I may have…lied?” He said, not really looking at her.

“How so?” she asked with a little frown on her face.

“I…wanted to meet you, Belle, so I made up an excuse to visit here and…you’re smiling?” he finished, a little hopeful look working its way to his lovely, lovely eyes.

“You didn’t have to make up an excuse,” she said kindly, “I was actually working my nerve to ask us to meet when you beat me to it.”

“Y-you were?”

“Of course. I really like chatting with you, Robert, I was really glad we live nearby, I mean, what are the odds, right?”

“Right.” He answered a little dumbfounded, a little shy smirk working its way up to his lips, looking like he wanted to say something but then he looked at her basket and cleared his throat. “Shall we?” he asked, indicating lunch. With a curious smile Belle nodded, wondering what he was about to say before, but deciding that it really didn’t matter.

 

 

Long after they had finished with lunch, they sat against the three, shoulders almost touching, hands a few centimetres apart (she was itching to grab his hand, but she didn’t think it was time to try that), talking quietly about their jobs. While he was explaining how he was restoring an old pocket watch, she couldn’t help but feel grateful that the chemistry and ease they felt online had remained when meeting face to face.

“I’m sorry, I must be boring you.” He said apologetically, as if it wasn’t the first time people had shown no interest in something he clearly loved. And wasn’t that awful?

“No, it’s not that. You know I find your work fascinating. I was just thinking about how great it is that we get along face to face. That we are comfortable enough,” she huffed a self-deprecating laugh, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“No, I…I get it Belle. I was really nervous to be honest, about meeting you.” He smiled gently, looking at her with vulnerable, soft eyes, “I’m not usually good with…people, but with you it’s…different. I feel very lucky to have met you.”

Belle wasn’t sure who moved their hand first, she couldn’t quite think with him being so close (and when had they come so close?) but they were holding hands while looking into each other’s eyes. Neither could look away and she was almost about to lean in when a ringing startled them apart, breaking the mood and reverting both into blushing messes. Turns out Robert’s son was calling.

“Ex-excuse me.” Robert apologised, quickly looking for his phone, his face flaming. “Neal! Yes, it’s something wrong?”

His face changed from worried to mildly annoyed in a second.

“Yes, I can get you a souvenir when I come back.” He half answered, half groaned, making Belle giggle. He smiled shyly at her before speaking. “I’m still in the middle of my lunch.”

He looked away to answer, his voice lowering in volume, but Belle could still hear him. “Yes, with Belle. No, Neal, it’s…yes, I will tell you when I get home. I’m hanging up now. Yes, love you too.”

He hung up, still not looking at her. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. So, you told him about me?” She smirked

“I…you heard that, eh?”

“Kind of hard not to. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s ok. And yes, I did. He knows how important you are to me.”

“I am?”

“Of course.” Taking a deep breath, he slowly took her hands in his, wordlessly checking if it was okay. When she nodded he gave her a grateful smile. “You have been the dearest of friends to me. Even before we started chatting I saw your posts and they made me smile.”

“I’ve always felt we had a connection. Chatting with you was one of the highlights of my day and, Robert…would you like to have dinner with me sometime?”

“Are-are you asking me out?”

“If…if you want. I mean, it could be as friends, we don’t…”

“I would love to” He interrupted her, squeezing her hands with his. “You just caught me by surprise, that’s all.”

“Oh.” She responded stupidly. Her brain having sort of short circuited. She could feel a blush rising and a goofy smile starting to form on her face and she couldn’t stop it. At the end she laughed, quickly trying to reassure him. “I’m just so relieved. I didn’t think you thought of me that way, to be honest.”

He smirked. “I thought the same, too. I really do like you, Belle, I’ve been feeling like this for months now but I always thought we would never even meet, that’s why I made up the business thing.”

“I’m glad you did. But you don’t mind seeing someone that doesn’t live in your town?”

“it’s you, so no. I can drive here as often as possible and if you wouldn’t be opposed I would love for you to meet my town.” He offered, sighing in relief when Belle immediately nodded and squeezed his hand.

While she hesitantly laid her head on his shoulder, hands still entwined, and he softly and briefly placed a kiss on the top of her head, Belle felt foolish at how scared she had been about meeting this wonderful man that had been her rock for the last months. Now, with his voice filling her ears as he thought the how’s and when’s of their future meetings, she could really feel like her future was brighter.


End file.
